Chance
by ShadowChocobo
Summary: Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro were sent on a simple mission: destroy the spirit plauging travelers in the desert. However, when the spirit isn't really a spirit at all, trouble starts to brew.
1. Chapter One: The Desert Spirit

**Author's Notes:** Hey guys! Thanks for checking out my story. It was just something that was floating around in my head, so I figured I'd put it into story form. I've been itching to write some Naruto fanfiction, anyway. You can expect an update later this week, maybe next week if I'm busy.

**Chapter One:**

**The Desert Spirit**

Rain fell in sheets outside the window Gaara was gazing out of, turning the deserted desert streets into little more than glorified mud holes. It was extremely rare for it to rain this hard, and Gaara suspected it would be the only rain Suna would get for the entire year. The sound of a door being slammed echoed throughout the house, and for a moment there was silence. Then--

"Kankuro! I told you to go shopping!" Temari growled from the front door. Gaara turned, watching blankly as his short tempered sister poked a finger into his dripping wet brother's chest. "We have _no_ food!"

Kankuro shoved his sister's hand away and pushed past her, throwing himself down on the couch next to Gaara. "All of the shops are closed. It's like these people think they're gonna melt from a little rain," he squinted one eye shut and glared at Temari, which didn't have the quite the effect he wanted as she started to chuckle. "What?"

"Your face paint is running all over your face." Gaara explained shortly, turning back to the window. As Kankuro hurried over to the sink to rinse off his face and Temari screamed something about tracking mud all over the house, Gaara saw a quick flash pass the window. With a sigh, he stood and walked over to the door, ignoring Temari as she attempted to shove a mop into Kankuro's hands ("But not before you get out of those muddy clothes!"), and opened the door just as Baki was reaching up to knock.

Surprise and fear flickered across the ninja's face for a split second, before he regained his composure, though his unease was still easy for Gaara to sense. Before Baki had a chance to say anything, Temari finally noticed their visitor, since her fight with her brother had moved from the kitchen to the sitting room.

"Baki sensei!" she exclaimed, immediately abandoning her quest to badger Kankuro into cleaning up his mud. "Please, come in." She shot one last glare toward her brother before sitting down next to him.

"I'm not staying long," Baki explained as he stepped inside and Gaara closed the door behind him. "I have a mission for the three of you."

Gaara leaned against the wall near the couch, crossing his arms and looking out the window. The rain was starting to stop.

"A mission?" Kankuro questioned, raising an eyebrow. "It's only been a week since the mission in Konoha."

"I know," Baki replied, crossing his arms and glaring down at his student. "It can't be helped. There have been rumors of people disappearing in the desert. More people than usual. A group of people that claimed they were attacked give us a story about some kind of spirit draining the life out of their friends. It doesn't seem like it's much, and you three need more training."

"Keh, sounds too easy," Temari stated, standing up and stretching. "Where is this "spirit", anyway?"

"Fifty miles north. The desert is harsh there, but it shouldn't be anything you can't handle," Baki replied, heading for the door. "Start getting ready. You leave in the morning."

Temari smirked, Kankuro rolled his eyes, and Gaara said nothing.

X

They had left before dawn, and by afternoon Temari and Kankuro decided it was time to take a break.

"You got the map?" Kankuro asked after he'd taken a drink from his canteen. Temari nodded and handed it to the puppeteer.

Gaara remained standing as his brother and sister sat down in the sand, looking at the map and chatting about the mission. Suna was no longer visible on the horizon. His eyes constantly swept the desert, looking for any sign of trouble.

"You can relax, Gaara," Kankuro sighed, setting the map aside and digging around in his bag for food. "We won't be anywhere near our destination for a while."

Gaara hesitated for a moment before sitting down in the sand across from them. Things had changed between the three ever since the day he had fought with Naruto. The fact that Gaara was trying to change astonished both Temari and Kankuro, but they said nothing about it.

"So, what do you think this _spirit_ is, anyway?" Kankuro asked around a mouthful of apple, breaking the silence. "I'm betting it's just some rouge ninja."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Temari growled, shaking the sand out of her sandals, which was an act as futile as trying to empty the ocean with a teacup. "But you're probably right. If there even _is_ anything out there. The desert can make people see strange things."

"Never underestimate your enemy." Gaara stated quietly. It was something his father had told him on multiple occasions when they had trained together, when he was still too small to pose any threat to the village, and his father still hoped he would be Suna's salvation. He had never followed this advice very closely, but he figured his siblings could use it.

Kankuro grunted his agreement, and Temari stood.

"Let's get going." She said, picking up her fan and pack.

X

Using chakra to boost their speed, they managed to get halfway there by nightfall.

"I haven't run that fast through the desert since I was in the academy." Kankuro puffed, plopping down in the sand and removing his hood. After wiping the sweat from his brow, he thew his pack down on the ground and used it as a make-shift pillow.

"You're such a wuss." Temari shot at him as she tried, once again, to remove the sand from her sandals. Kankuro flipped her the bird without turning to face her.

"Quiet, you two." Gaara snapped. He'd developed a throbbing headache, and their bickering wasn't helping. Even though the moon hadn't yet risen, he could tell it was going to be full.

The two promptly shut up, noticing their brother's worsening mood. After a couple of hushed good nights, they attempted to go to sleep. Gaara had found a rock large enough to sit on, and sat almost completely still, long after his brother and sister had fallen asleep. He occupied himself by keeping a sharp lookout, which helped him ignore the demon's restless churning.

After hours of inactivity, Gaara was growing increasingly bored. At least when he was in Suna he could read a book, or prowl the streets at night, but there was nothing in the middle of the desert to hold his interest. Suddenly, he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. When he turned, there was nothing there, but all of his senses screamed that he wasn't alone. His eyes never leaving the spot where he thought someone may be concealing themselves, he slipped off of the rock and gave both Kankuro and Temari a small kick to wake them up.

"Wha...? Gaara, what the--" Kankuro began, before Temari clapped a hand over his mouth, and followed Gaara's gaze. Kankuro flicked his eyes over to where they were looking, and saw nothing. After a moment, he was about to ask what they were looking at when, for a split second, the desert flickered. His eyes narrowed and he sat up, reaching for his puppet as Temari grabbed her fan.

"So someone's using an illusionary technique to hide over there?" Kankuro asked, his voice barely a whisper. Temari nodded.

"They must know that we know where they are. I don't know why they won't just drop the act." She replied.

"Show yourself." Gaara stated coolly, raising his voice just enough for whomever was hiding to hear him. By this time his siblings were up and ready to fight. There was no response from their hidden enemy. Gaara jumped slightly as Temari let out a strangled gasp, and whipped around to see her struggling to free herself from the chakra threads that had wound around her.

"Temari!" Kankuro yelped, taking a step toward her, then stopped, realizing the great opportunity that had just been offered to them. "Gaara, follow the chakra threads, they'll lead you straight to the guy!"

Gaara hesitated for a moment, not quite sure he wanted to leave his sister trapped, but decided it would be best to follow his brother's advice, since chakra threads were notoriously hard to break. He sent a small trail of sand along one thread, moving quickly so that the thread's owner wouldn't notice until it was too late.

"Hurry up." Temari hissed, beginning to feel weak. This was probably the person posing as a spirit that had been killing people. _Draining the life out of them..._

Suddenly Gaara sensed that his sand had hit skin. In a flash he had the assailant encased in sand, and a grim smile twitched across his lips, a split second before confusion swept across his face. The threads around Temari broke, and she fell to her knees. Kankuro was already stepping toward the person, a kunai in his hand.

"Stop." Gaara barked, and Kankuro froze in his tracks. He turned toward his brother, raising an eyebrow.

"What is it?" Kankuro asked as Gaara walked up to the would-be assassin, with only their face visible. A small, frightened face with wide blue eyes.

"It's a kid." Gaara replied, his eyes narrowing. Kankuro rushed to his brother's side, and his eyes widened as he saw that Gaara was right.

"Wait, what--" Kankuro stopped when Gaara held up a hand to silence him.

"You should go and see if Temari is alright. I'll speak to the child." Gaara said, his tone implying that it wasn't a suggestion. Kankuro frowned and did as he was told. Once the puppeteer was out of earshot, Gaara crossed his arms and started intently at the little girl before him.

"I'm going to ask you some questions. If you answer them truthfully I'll let you live. Understood?"

The girl nodded as best she could, fear written all over her face.

"Are you the one who has been attacking people?" Gaara began, ignoring the girl's discomfort.

"Yes." The little girl squeaked out. This didn't come as much of a surprise to Gaara.

"Why?" He shot back. For a moment it looked as though she wasn't going to respond, then--

"Because I need to to live." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. Gaara narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"If I go too long without taking another person's energy, I'll die," the little girl replied. "Orochimaru told me so. He said I was sick."

At the mention of Orochimaru, Gaara's eyes widened with shock, something that didn't occur often. He needed to get her back to the village, as soon as possible.

"I'm going to release you. Don't run. Don't try to attack me, or anyone else. If you do I'll kill you." Gaara stated bluntly. The girl nodded to show that she understood, and suddenly the sand holding her fell to the ground. She nearly fell, too, but managed to steady herself. Her clothes, a simple pair of khaki shorts and a black shirt, looked a bit too small for her, and were worn from use. Her hair, a silvery-blue which fell to the middle of her back, was matted and dirty. Gaara frowned at the girl's condition, wondering how long she had been in the desert.

"How old are you?" Gaara asked, walking back over to his siblings and motioning for her to follow. She shuffled after him, staring at her feet.

"Eight, sir." She replied quietly. Gaara's fingers twitched. Nobody had ever called him "sir" before.

"Is she really the one who's been attacking people?" Temari asked, getting to her feet shakily as Gaara and the girl approached. Gaara nodded, and Kankuro frowned and opened his mouth, but Gaara spoke before he had the chance to.

"Any questions can be directed to her." He growled, sitting down in the sand and wincing as his headache decided to make it's presence known. Temari and Kankuro immediately pounced on the hapless child, firing question after question at her as Gaara fought to keep the increasingly persistent demon at bay. After a few moments, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Temari, who looked slightly concerned.

"Are you okay?" She asked cautiously. Gaara nodded and got to his feet, noticing that Kankuro was busy trying to entertain the kid.

"What did you learn?" Gaara asked, looking back at Temari. She shrugged.

"Probably not much that you didn't already know. Her name is Shizuka. She was one of Orochimaru's pet projects. When he decided that she was a failure, he dumped her on the edges of wind country. She's been wandering ever since," Temari looked over her shoulder at the child, who was staring at her feet shyly as Kankuro attempted to start up a conversation with her. "I don't know what they'll do with her once we get back to Suna. This is big news. The Hokage will probably poke her nose into it. I almost feel sorry for the kid."

Gaara sighed and rubbed his eyes. "The sooner we get back to Suna with the kid, the better. Then she won't be my problem."

The sun was beginning to rise over the horizon, and Gaara decided it was time to start heading back, whether his brother and sister were tired or not. To his annoyance, the girl had decided to stick to him, since she didn't feel like talking, and Gaara was the only quiet one in the bunch. For hours they walked in mutual silence, until finally Kankuro and Temari's whining became too much to bear, and they stopped to rest.

His brother and sister talked at length about Orochimaru, and what may happen to Shizuka when they got back to Suna. Gaara sat far enough away for their constant chattering to not irritate him, and instead was bothered by the girl who constantly hovered around him. As he took a drink from his canteen, he noticed her staring at the water container intently. Wordlessly, the sand ninja held the canteen out to her. She was surprised by this, and took the canteen cautiously. For a moment she just stared at it, then took a long drink from it before handing it back to Gaara with a hurried "Thank you."

Another few moments passed in silence before Shizuka suddenly spoke up.

"They won't take me back to Orochimaru, will they?" She asked quietly, biting her lip. Gaara sighed, wishing that she had decided to attach herself to someone else.

"No. Orochimaru is an enemy to most countries, and they'll be interested in what you know about him." Gaara replied curtly, hoping she would take the hint and shut up. Luckily, the girl seemed to catch on, and decided to just sit quietly. A couple of minutes later they were on their way once more.

X

By the time they made it to the outskirts of Suna, Gaara's temper was short, and he couldn't wait to dump the child he was currently carrying on some other ninja. A few miles back the girl had become too weak to walk, and Temari and Kankuro had crowed about how heavy their equipment was until an exasperated Gaara decided to carry the girl himself-- something that, a little over a week ago, he would never have done.

The feared demon container drew many shocked looks as he walked through the streets of Suna with the little girl in his arms, sporting a scowl on his face that could, in theory, make meek old women faint. Gaara paused, and turned to his brother and sister.

"I'll take the girl to the hospital and have the medical ninja take a look at her. You two go report the results of our mission." He instructed, his voice much more calm than the two had been expecting. They nodded, and dashed off.

"I'm sorry." A small voice said meekly. Gaara looked down at the girl in his arms, who was avoiding his eyes. Gaara sighed and kept walking.

"You don't need to apologize to me. I'm not one of your victims."

The girl flinched as though the words had physically hurt her, and fell silent.

X

Gaara glanced over at the pretty young nurse that had been sent to talk to him. The unfortunate woman looked as though she might faint, and Gaara was secretly grateful that he was used to this kind of reaction from people.

"Yes?" Gaara asked, trying to sound as non-threatening as possible. The woman jumped slightly and put on a shaky smile. She reminded Gaara of a rabbit. Shy, frightened, and--

_Easy prey._

He shoved the last thought out of his mind, focusing on the nurse as she attempted to address him.

"G-Gaara, sir," she began with an awkward bow. "T-the girl isn't in very good condition. We don't really know what is wrong with her. We think y-you should take her to Konoha, where Hokage Tsunade could take a look at her, s-sir."

"Thank you. You're dismissed." Gaara said with a nod at the nurse. She scampered away as fast as she could without being rude. Just as Gaara was trying to make himself comfortable in the stiff hospital waiting room chair once more, the door burst open and Baki stormed in, with Temari and Kankuro on his heels.

"Who gave you permission to bring the criminal here?" Baki exclaimed, looking livid. Gaara just stared at him blankly. Word must have gotten out that he wasn't as homicidal as he used to be, because Baki had never dared to speak to him like that before.

"She needed medical attention. I assume that Kankuro and Temari told you everything?" Gaara replied calmly, not ruffled in the least by his teacher's uncharacteristic outburst. Gaara looked over Baki's shoulder at his siblings, who looked exasperated.

"I don't care if it's a child or an old man, if you are sent on a mission to kill or capture a murderer, you bring them directly to me before you do anything else!" Baki growled, glaring at Gaara, who looked as stoic as usual.

"I assumed that the subject's health was more important, since she may have information about Orochimaru." Gaara shot back, crossing his arms and looking victorious as Baki sputtered and whipped around to turn his glare on Temari and Kankuro.

"Why wasn't I told about this?" He inquired, his voice laced with venom.

"We _tried_ to tell you, but you wouldn't listen!" Kankuro snapped, rolling his eyes. Baki fell silent after this, before storming off, muttering something about finding a nurse.

"Moron," Temari hissed, slipping into a seat across from Gaara. "I swear he thinks he's going to be the next Kazekage or something."

"Temari, I need you to get Baki's approval for a trip to Konoha with the girl. We need to have Tsunade examine her." Gaara said suddenly. Temari blinked.

"Uh...sure, Gaara. I'll try my best, but I don't think he's in the mood to hand over his catch to Konoha." Temari replied slowly, a small frown pulling at her lips.

"I'm going, with or without his permission. Konoha is much stronger than Suna at the moment, and they are very interested in anything that has to do with Orochimaru," Gaara stated, the barest of smiles crossing his face. "Besides, I owe them."

"Then you're probably going by yourself," Kankuro sighed, squinting one eye shut. "We aren't like you. They aren't afraid to punish us."

"If it doesn't work out with Baki don't worry, we'll find some way to follow you to Konoha, little brother." Temari said cheerfully. Gaara's neck nearly snapped as he whipped his head around to look at his sister, confusion written all over his face. She had never called him that before. He quickly composed himself and stood up.

"I'm going to find the kid's room." He said quickly before hurrying off. Temari suppressed a chuckle.

X

When he entered Shizuka's room, he guessed that he had just missed Baki, by the concerned expression on the girl's face. She looked over when the door opened and was surprised to see Gaara, though he could hardly blame her. He hadn't exactly acted warmly toward her. Truth be told, he was just using the child as an excuse to get out of the awkward situation with Temari.

Shizuka still looked like death warmed over, but she put on a small smile as the sand ninja took a seat near her bed.

"Hi, Gaara." She said quietly. Gaara briefly wondered how she knew his name, but decided she must have learned it from his siblings, or maybe the nurses.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, not really caring. He thought it would be better than sitting in awkward silence, at any rate. The girl shrugged.

"Okay, I guess." She replied softly. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was a lie. The two sat in silence for a while after that. Gaara glanced at the girl, who was looking out the window into the busy desert streets.

"Well...don't get too worried. I'm going to get you to Konoha. Tsunade is praised as on of the greatest medical ninjas, she'll take care of you." Gaara said, hoping the words were more reassuring than he had thought they sounded. Shizuka's face lit up, and a bright smile cracked across her face.

"She'll be able to help me? Really? Thank you!" The girl chirped, more lively than Gaara had ever seen her. Gaara mentally kicked himself. There was no guarantee that Tsunade would be able to cure her. He forced a small smile and gave her a quick pat on the head before exiting the room. As the door closed behind him, the smile fell away and he felt an emotion that was completely foreign to him.

Guilt.


	2. Chapter Two: The Past Stays Buried

**Author's Note:** I would have had this chapter done a lot sooner, but one of the decorative beams in our living room fell. Luckily, it got caught on the fireplace. The fireplace and the electrical wires are the only thing holding it up as I type this, and we've been waiting for a repair man to come and help us fix the damn thing. As you can imagine, there was quite a mess to clean up.

**Chapter Two:**

**The Past Stays Buried**

"Baki wouldn't go for it." Temari sighed, poking at some of the instant ramen she had been able to scrounge up from deep within the pantry, since they still hadn't had a chance to go shopping. Gaara crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"I'll have to leave with her some time tonight, before Baki moves her somewhere more heavily guarded," Gaara said slowly, glancing over at his sister. "Thank you for trying."

"Don't mention it," Temari replied, waving a hand dismissively. "Just don't get yourself into trouble you can't get out of." Gaara rolled his eyes.

"I'm not Kankuro."

"Hey!" Kankuro growled, then paused, his eyes widening in shock as he stared at his brother. "Wait, did you just crack a joke?"

Gaara looked almost as surprised as Kankuro, and had to think for a moment before answering.

"...I'm not sure." He answered flatly, shrugging.

"I think he was just stating a fact." Temari added, throwing Kankuro a smirk.

""I think he was just stating a fact..."" Kankuro echoed in a high pitched mock-female voice, squinting one eye shut. "Great, now you two are double-teaming me."

The two started to bicker again, and for once Gaara wasn't annoyed.

X

The hospital was as silent as a tomb as Gaara made his way to Shizuka's room without a sound. Kankuro had gotten ahold of the hospital's schedule, and Gaara learned that at midnight there was a shift change, giving him just enough time to grab the girl and get out of there before anyone showed up. He finally found the child's room, and stepped inside. The girl was fast asleep, and looked even more sickly in the moonlight that was coming in through the window. He stepped up to the bed, and gave the girl a light shake.

"Wake up."

The girl cracked an eye open, and when she saw it was Gaara she opened her mouth to speak, but he silenced her with a quick shake of his head.

"Don't make a sound until we're clear of Suna." He whispered, glancing over at the foot of her bed where Temari, feeling slightly sorry for the girl, had left a pack full of her old clothes. She had also taken the time to brush out the girl's wild silvery blue hair, which now fell a little bit past her waist.

"Can you walk?" he asked, picking up the pack. The Shizuka shook her head, and Gaara sighed inwardly as she struggled to sit up. "Hold still." He scooped the girl up into his arms, and let out a sharp gasp as he did so, nearly dropping her. Now that he had the girl in his arms he could feel her chakra, and it was so low that she should have been in a coma.

"What's wrong?" Shizuka asked, her voice so quiet that Gaara could barely hear her. He quickly composed himself, walking over to the window.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

X

The chill night air whipped past them as Gaara ran as fast as he could. He intended to reach Konoha as soon as possible, so that he could return to Suna and explain himself in time to keep from being declared a missing-nin.

He glanced down at the child in his arms. She hadn't spoken a word since they left Suna, and though he would normally be happy about this, it made him worry. Even as he held her, he could feel her chakra slowly but steadily dropping. Something was very wrong with the girl. He wasn't concerned for the girl, really, more about the fact that she may die before any information could be extracted from her.

"I have a question." Gaara said suddenly, and Shizuka looked up at him slowly.

"What?"

"Can you control the amount of chakra that you take from a person?" He asked, glancing down at her. She looked stricken by the question.

"I've never tried to before," Shizuka admitted, avoiding Gaara's eyes. "I just always...took it all."

Gaara slowed to a stop and looked down at the girl once more, a small frown on his face. "Draw out some of my chakra."

The girl's eyes widened, and she shook her head. Gaara sighed, his frown deepening into a scowl.

"Kid, you couldn't kill me if you tried," he reassured her. "Besides, you aren't going to live long enough for us to get to Konoha if you don't."

Shizuka paled at the later statement, and without hesitation grabbed hold of his arm. Confusion swept over her face as she did so, and she looked up at Gaara questioningly. "Which one should I draw from?"

"What do you mean?" Gaara asked, not quite understanding what the girl was talking about.

"Which chakra? Which one should I draw from?" She asked again. It dawned on Gaara that she was able to sense the demon's chakra, too, even though it wasn't active at the moment. He didn't think it would be very wise for her to accidently use Shukaku's chakra, and he thought for a moment before responding.

"...The red one." He answered finally, deciding that was the color his normal chakra felt like. The girl nodded, and bit her lip with worry as she began to extract some of his chakra. For a moment, Gaara felt nothing, then his chakra started to disappear faster than it did when he used his most powerful techniques.

"That's enough." Gaara growled, wincing as the demon stirred within him. Shizuka immediately pulled her hand back, looking shocked.

"That other chakra doesn't feel right," she said, looking up at him concernedly. "Maybe you should get checked out when we get to Konoha, too."

Gaara stared down at the girl, and after a moment a smile smile involuntarily twitched across his face.

"No, there isn't anything they can do about that." He replied, setting off toward the fire country once more. The girl's chakra flow felt almost normal now, much to his relief. Shukaku was still shifting around, curious as to why a fairly large amount of it's host's chakra had suddenly vanished. Gaara could feel it poking around at the edges of his mind.

_Prey?_ It asked when it noticed the child in Gaara's arms.

_No. She's _not_ prey._ Gaara shot back at it. The demon seemed disappointed, and settled down.

X

Not long after the sun had risen, Gaara had to stop. He hadn't expected that he was going to have to give the girl a good deal of his chakra, and it threw his plan out the window. Now he didn't know how long it would take to get to Konoha, because he certainly wasn't going to call on any of Shukaku's chakra while he had the girl with him.

He watched Shizuka carefully as she marveled at the desert wildflowers that had popped up due to the rain. She was doing much better now, but Gaara didn't know how long it would last. The girl finally walked back over to Gaara, a bright yellow flower in her hands.

"I'm hungry." She said, looking up at the sand ninja and frowning. Gaara rubbed his eyes, and looked off into the distance. Not too far away there was a small town on the edge of wind country. He was glad he'd had the presence of mind to bring some money with him. He stood, motioning for the girl to follow him.

"Let's go get something to eat."

X

"Is that him?"

"It's the demon!"

"Be quiet, he'll hear you!"

Shizuka watched as the three women who had been speaking hurried off, and looked up at Gaara, puzzled. His face was a stoic as ever, and even though she knew he must have heard them, he acted as though he hadn't. He'd been receiving the same reaction from everyone; they all seemed to fear him.

Gaara took a bite out of the sandwich he had gotten at a small convenient store, the only place in the small town that sold food. He wrinkled his nose, and set it aside. After seeing this, Shizuka looked down at her sweet roll suspiciously.

"I'm sure it's fine, just eat it. We don't have time to sit around." Gaara instructed, noticing the girl's hesitance.

The girl ate the roll as fast as she could, guessing that Gaara's patience was running thin. As soon as she was done Gaara stood, and Shizuka hopped up after him. The townsfolk gave them a wide berth as Gaara led the girl toward the town gates. The guards let him out without a word.

After a few minutes of walking, Shizuka suddenly stopped in her tracks, and looked up at Gaara.

"Something isn't right." She said quietly. Gaara looked around, but he could neither see nor sense anything.

"Are you sure?" Gaara asked skeptically. The girl took a few paces to her right, her eyes narrowing as she glanced around. She turned back to Gaara and shrugged.

"I guess not--"

Before she had a chance to finish her sentence, a man was behind her, with a kunai to her throat. She held very still as the man looked over at Gaara.

"I see the stories of your greatness have been highly exaggerated, Gaara of the Desert," he observed calmly, nodding his head toward the girl. "A kid was able to sense my presence, and you couldn't."

Gaara crossed his arms, looking the man over calmly. He couldn't find a headband from any village. However, if he was after the girl, he was most likely a sound ninja.

"You'll find out just how true the stories are if you don't release the girl," Gaara replied stoically, removing the cork from his gourd. "You have forty seconds."

The ninja laughed, and preformed a quick hand seal with his free hand, a smirk creeping across his face as he disappeared from sight. Suddenly the world turned black, Gaara couldn't see or hear anything.

"I'll give the girl to you without any trouble if you can manage to catch me in that amount of time." The ninja's voice echoed from nowhere.

Gaara found that he couldn't move, and let out a muffled curse.

_Genjutsu._

"Should I bring up some of your worst memories? Or your greatest fears?"

Gaara remained stubbornly silent, and the ninja chuckled.

"Memories it is."

The darkness gave way to a blurry mess of colors, which swam for a moment before rearranging and forming an image. Gaara was looking down at his five year old self, who was sobbing uncontrollably. His father had bought him a dog to help make up for the lack of human friends he had. He had accidently killed it when his sand misinterpreted his command to catch the dog, after it had run off with his favorite teddy bear. His father stood nearby, scowling.

"That's what you get for not being able to control your powers. If you can't learn to do so, people will die, and you'll be useless to me." His father said coolly.

The image faded, only to be replaced by another. He was still five, but this time the face scowling down at him was a seven year old Kankuro's.

"You're not my brother! You're just a monster!" Kankuro spat after Gaara had asked if he could play with him and his friends.

Once more the image changed, to the one that Gaara had been dreading. Gaara, six this time, was on his knees, sobbing next to the broken body of his uncle.

"You were never loved!" Yashamaru said slowly, blood leaking from the corners of his lips. With the last of his strength he reached up and opened his vest, revealing the explosive notes concealed inside. "This is it. Please die."

The explosive notes fizzled, and then--

The darkness suddenly lifted, and Gaara blinked. Shizuka was standing over the lifeless body of the ninja, tears streaking down her face. She looked over at Gaara, shaking uncontrollably.

"I killed him. He wouldn't stop, so I took all of his chakra," she said shakily. "Are you alright? You looked like you were in pain."

Gaara's head throbbed, and the demon was almost fully awake. "...I'm alright." He replied distantly, still staring down at the dead ninja. He wanted to mangle his body, tear his limbs of, soak the sand crimson with his blood--

"Let's get going," Gaara said, and in a rare display of affection, reached out and clapped a hand on the girl's shoulder. "There's no need to hang around here. What's done is done."

Shizuka rubbed her tears off on her sleeve and tried to compose herself, following Gaara as he started off again, leaving his past behind, if only for a little while, with the ninja lying dead in the sand.

X

**Author's Note:** Don't worry, the next chapter will be better, I guarantee it.

Don't forget to review:D


	3. Chapter Three: Konoha

**Author's Notes:** Originally this story was set to take place before the time jump, but still follow the timeline of the Naruto manga and anime. But since then it's sort of taken on a life of it's own, and you could consider it AU. It seems like this happens with every story idea I have, whether original or fanfiction...it just wants to go off and do it's own thing, dragging me along for the ride.

I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed. You have no idea how much it helps me to write when I think I've hit a wall.

**Chapter Three:**

**Konoha**

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining overhead, birds were singing, and Shizuka was running around happily, trying to look at everything at once. Gaara was surprised her neck hadn't snapped, the way she kept whipping it around to soak everything in.

They had finally arrived in Fire Country, and weren't too far from Konoha.

"The trees are so _big_!" Shizuka exclaimed, running up the path excitedly.

"Don't go too far!" Gaara snapped, and the girl stopped, waiting for Gaara to catch up.

"Sorry..." She said, looking up at him with the most pathetic look she could muster. He looked down at her, crossing his arms and sighing.

"I don't care if you run around. Just don't get too far away from me." The exhausted sand ninja instructed wearily. Shizuka's face lit up once more, and she resumed her mad dash around the path.

_I'm glad one of us is feeling energetic._ Gaara thought dryly. His chakra hadn't been this low since his fight with Naruto. He kept having to share it with the girl, since her own chakra was disappearing more and more rapidly. He was looking forward to turning her over to Tsunade so that he could get a few hours of peace.

Forty minutes of walking brought them to the gates of Konoha, and Shizuka could do nothing but stare in awe of the huge hidden village. The guards stopped him at the gate.

"You're Gaara from Sunagakure, aren't you?" one of them asked, scratching his head. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to see the Hokage about this girl." Gaara replied, motioning to Shizuka, who was too busy looking around to notice.

"Do you have any mission papers?" The other guard, slightly older than his companion asked.

"No. There wasn't any time, this girl has important information that the Hokage needs to hear as soon as possible." Gaara said, and the guard frowned.

"I'm sorry, but we can't let you in unless you have written permission."

Gaara scowled. He didn't have the patience to stand around trying to convince the guards to let him in.

"Can't one of you go and inform the Hokage that I'm here?" Gaara asked, grabbing the back of Shizuka's shirt to keep her from bolting into the village after a puppy.

"We can't leave our posts," the younger guard explained. "Sorry."

Just when Gaara was considering sneaking into the village, he heard a familiar voice shout out his name.

"Gaara!"

He looked past the guards to see Naruto, a large bag filled to the brim with instant ramen in his arms. "What the hell are you doing here? Who's the kid?" Naruto asked, looking down at the girl.

"I'll explain later. Can you go tell the Hokage that I need to speak with her?" Gaara asked, never feeling more happy to see the loudmouth blond. Naruto grinned and shoved his groceries into Gaara's hands.

"Sure! I'll be right back!" He exclaimed. He disappeared in a flash. Gaara looked down at the bag and wondered briefly how Naruto hadn't died from lack of vitamins.

If Temari and Kankuro could have seen him standing in front of the gates of Konoha with an overstuffed bag of ramen balanced carefully in one hand, while holding a little girl in check with the other, and a throughly irritated look on his face, they would have howled with laughter.

He and the guards stood in uncomfortable silence, until Naruto finally made it back to the gate, a grin on his face and a paper in his hand.

"Here!" Naruto said, handing the paper to one of the guards. "He has the Hokage's permission to enter."

The guards backed off, and Gaara handed Naruto his bag.

"Thanks." Gaara said flatly, stepping into the village. Naruto shrugged.

"Hey, don't mention it!" Naruto replied, waving a hand dismissively. Then he dropped his voice a little, looking guilty. "Um...old lady Tsunade wants me to escort you straight to her."

Gaara wasn't phased in the least. He hadn't expected the Hokage to trust him completely. She would have been a fool if she had, after what had happened the last time he visited.

"That's fine." Gaara reassured him, and glanced over at Shizuka. She was staring up at Naruto curiously. He didn't think she'd ever met anyone so loud before.

"Hey, what's your name kid?" Naruto asked, noticing Shizuka was watching him. The girl looked down at her feet.

"Shizuka." She mumbled just loud enough for him to hear.

"Nice to meet you Shizuka!" Naruto said cheerfully, shooting the girl a wide grin. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, number one Genin in Konoha!"

"Since when?" Gaara asked skeptically, glancing over the blond. Naruto scowled and crossed his arms.

"Since I kicked your ass!" Naruto shot back. Shizuka looked up at Naruto in awe.

"You beat Gaara?" Shizuka asked slowly, her eyes wide. Naruto nodded, enjoying the attention.

"I sure did! He was pulling out all the stops, too!" Naruto gloated, looking quite pleased with himself.

"If I remember correctly," Gaara spoke up, catching their attention. "It was a tie. Neither of us were able to continue."

Naruto muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "I still won" and pouted as Shizuka giggled.

"What's so funny, midget?" Naruto growled playfully at the girl.

"Hey! I'm not short!" Shizuka whined, looking over at Gaara for support. "Am I?"

Gaara looked down at her stoically. Now that he thought about it, she was pretty small for her age. The sand ninja made a noise that could have been interpreted as either positive or negative, not wanting to start a fight.

"Ha! Even Gaara thinks you're short!" Naruto teased, ruffling the girl's hair.

"I didn't say that." Gaara protested exasperatedly.

"Yeah, whatever. We're here!" Naruto said, stopping in front of the Hokage tower.

X

"I see..." Tsunade said from behind the tower of paperwork on her desk after Gaara had offered up a quick explanation as to why he had come to Konoha. Tsunade stood, and walked over to Shizuka, who looked petrified.

"You've done some pretty serious things." Tsunade said curtly as she looked down at the girl, hands on her hips. Gaara was surprised to feel a twinge of anger at the Hokage, before the severe look on her face suddenly melted into a smile, and she put a hand on Shizuka's shoulder. "But we'll do what we can help you out."

"T-thank you." Shizuka stammered, bowing.

"Shizune," Tsunade called, turning toward the woman, who gave a nod to show she was listening. "Take Shizuka to the hospital. I'll catch up to you later, once I've gotten through some of this paperwork."

"Yes, Tsunade." Shizune said, taking Shizuka by the hand. Shizuka twisted around and looked at Gaara, the slightest hint of fear on her face.

"I'll visit you later." Gaara reassured her, and Shizuka smiled shakily, allowing Shizune to lead her away.

Gaara excused himself from the Hokage's office, and was planning on finding a place where he could relax when he heard footsteps rushing to catch up with him. He turned slightly, and saw that it was Naruto, who skidded to a stop next to him, still holding the bag of ramen.

"Hey Gaara! Wanna grab some lunch after I swing by my apartment to drop this stuff off?" Naruto asked with all the energy of a squirrel. Gaara opened his mouth, but found himself unable to come up with a valid excuse to avoid the Genin in his weary state of mind.

"...Fine."

X

"So Gaara, what have you been up to?" Naruto asked around a mouthful of noodles. Naruto had, shockingly, opted that they visit Ichiraku Ramen.

"Missions," Gaara replied, not too surprised by Naruto's rude eating habits. "Just the other week Kankuro, Temari and I had to follow a criminal from Suna all the way here."

"Really?" Naruto asked, pausing in his slurping to glance over at the sand ninja. "I can't believe I didn't run into you."

"We never went into the actual city," Gaara explained. "He thought he could hide in the forests."

Naruto snorted at this, and downed the last of his bowl before promptly ordering another. He, a trained ninja, wouldn't want three ninjas (let alone _Gaara_) after him, even if they were Genin.

Before Naruto could speak up once more, a ninja suddenly materialized next to him, causing him to flinch. Gaara simply glanced over at her disinterestedly.

"The Hokage wanted me to find you two and tell you she wishes to see you immediately in hospital room 284." The woman said. Naruto sighed and paid for their lunch.

"Okay, I'm coming." Naruto growled, looking quite annoyed about having his lunch interrupted.

Gaara stood up and followed him silently.

X

Tsunade stood outside of the door, her arms crossed and a small frown on her face. When the boys showed up, she lead them a little ways away from the door, so that Shizuka wouldn't overhear their conversation.

"First of all, Naruto," Tsunade began, turning toward the blond, her eyes narrowed. "The only reason you're here is because I _know_ you would have just followed Gaara anyway, and if I had told you to mind your own business, you would have found some way to eavesdrop. I expect you to keep anything you overhear to yourself. Understood?"

Naruto fidgeted at the truth in her statement, and nodded. Tsunade straightened up, and turned her gaze on Gaara.

"Orochimaru had nothing to do with this." She said, getting straight to the point. Gaara frowned.

"Then who did?"

"I'm not sure. Whoever scrambled her memories did a horrible job of it. She remembers things that would have never happened, and doesn't remember important things that she should have known." Tsunade sighed, swiping her bangs out of her eyes.

"How can you be so sure that Orochimaru didn't have anything to do with her, other than her memories?" Naruto asked. Tsunade glared at him.

"I was getting to that," She explained, going back to Shizuka's door. "I don't want a peep out of you two when you see this. She doesn't need to know yet."

Gaara and Naruto exchanged glances, and followed Tsunade into the room. Shizuka was sitting up in the bed, flipping through television channels. When she saw Gaara and Naruto she smiled.

"Hi!" She said brightly. Tsunade strode over to her side, and gave the girl a pat on the head.

"Hold still for a second. I want to show these two something." Tsunade said, and Shizuka nodded. Tsunade reached down and lifted up her shirt a bit, exposing Shizuka's stomach. Gaara felt a sinking feeling. He had an idea where this was going. Naruto still looked as clueless as ever. Tsunade placed her hand against the girl's stomach for a few seconds, then removed it.

For a moment nothing happened, then some shakily drawn lines began to appear. Soon a small, poorly drawn seal was in plain view. Gaara was sure that his stomach had dropped down into his sandals, but the only emotion he allowed out was a heavy sigh. Naruto gasped, and Shizuka looked between the two, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Orochimaru would have never set her loose in this condition," Tsunade said, letting Shizuka's shirt drop back over the seal. "Besides, he knew enough about seals to draw one up with more skill than this."

"Seal?" Shizuka asked, still throughly confused. Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but Gaara cut him off quickly.

"Your chakra has been sealed off." Gaara lied, shooting Naruto a glare. The blond, catching on, nodded in agreement.

"We'll be right back." Tsunade directed at Shizuka, ushering the two boys out.

"So..." Naruto began, whatever he had been planing to say dying in his throat as the door clicked shut behind them. He just shook his head.

"That seal is very poorly done. I'm surprised it was successful. That's the reason her chakra disappears," Tsunade began to explain. "Her chakra and the demon's can't work cooperatively. Her chakra is constantly leaking out of the seal, and the demon can't lend her any of it's own."

"Is there anything that can be done?" Gaara asked, scowling. Tsunade sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"Fortunately, there is. Since the demon is already trapped inside her, it's just a matter of repairing and changing the seal," Tsunade smiled slightly. "It's a good thing Jiraiya is still in the village.

"Jiraiya?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow. "So he's good at something other than peeping?"

Tsunade ignored him, and turned toward Gaara. "You keep an eye on her until I can track down Jiraiya. Naruto," she turned toward the blond. "I want you to look too. If I find him before you do, I'll let you know."

Naruto nodded, and dashed off. Tsunade gave Gaara a quick nod, then she too was gone. Gaara cursed inwardly. This just kept getting worse and worse. What else could possibly go wrong?

He got his answer as he opened the door to Shizuka's room, only to have it bump into something small and girl shaped. He looked down just as Shizuka looked up at him, tears in her eyes. Gaara clenched his eyes shut and sighed to keep himself from cursing violently.

"Of all the conversations you could have eavesdropped on, it had to be that one." Gaara said finally, opening his eyes. Shizuka made a small noise that had probably been an attempt at speech. Gaara stepped inside carefully around the girl, and closed the door. Shizuka tore her gaze away from him and stared resolutely at the floor.

Gaara didn't know what to do. He wasn't the comforting type. He just watched her silently as she cried. After a couple of minutes, she was finally able to speak up.

"Why?" she asked tearfully, looking over at Gaara once more. "Why me?"

Gaara froze. He had asked himself that same question over and over before he had stopped caring. Shizuka was looking up at him as if expecting an answer, any answer. Gaara scowled as he composed himself.

"Self pity won't get you anywhere," Gaara snapped, and Shizuka looked shocked at his almost angry tone. "Crying isn't going to change anything, either. You are you. Nothing has changed since a few minutes ago when you didn't know."

With that, Gaara seated himself in one of the chairs in the room, picked up the remote, and began to flip through the channels on the TV as if nothing had happened. Shizuka watched him silently for a moment, then stood and pulled a chair up next to him. Gaara watched her out of the corner of his eye, and stopped when he found some cartoons. He handed her the remote and leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes.

"Are you going to take a nap?" Shizuka asked disapprovingly. Gaara opened one eye to look over at the girl, who could give Naruto a run for his money with the pout she was performing.

"No. I can't sleep. I'm just resting." Gaara explained shortly.

"What do you mean you can't sleep?" Shizuka asked curiously.

"I mean what I said, I _can't_ sleep. I've never slept in my life." Gaara sighed, closing his eyes once more.

"Then what do you do at night?" Shizuka prodded, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Read. Walk. Whatever I come up with to occupy myself." Gaara growled, his patience rapidly disappearing. This was why he never liked to be around children. They talked too much and asked too many questions.

Just as Shizuka was opening her mouth to ask another question, the sound of an argument drifted in from the hall.

"...Collecting information!" A man's voice shouted.

"'Collecting information' my ass, you perverted old man! I _knew_ I'd find you there!" Naruto's voice exclaimed.

"I'm not old!" The other person shot back.

"Shut up, both of you! This is a HOSPITAL!" Tsunade roared above the both of them. There was absolute silence for a moment, then someone howled with pain. "And what have I told you about peeping in the girl's bath?"

"You didn't have to hit me, Tsunade!" Jiraiya said thickly as the door to Shizuka's room finally opened, revealing a tall man with wild white hair and a bloody nose. "I see you still haven't grown any manners."

Tsunade shot him a warning look as she stepped into the room, followed by an amused Naruto. Gaara officially gave up on ever getting any peace and quiet, and sat up, looking disgruntled.

"So this is the kid, huh?" Jiraiya guessed, trying to stem the flow of his nose with his sleeve.

Tsunade nodded, and Naruto scowled.

"Hurry up already, I wanna go finish my lunch."


	4. Chapter Four: Monsters, Great And Small

**Author's Note: **Since I thought it might start getting a little confusing later on in the story, from now on Shukaku's words are in **_bold_** while Gaara's thoughts are just plain _italic._

I would have updated this the day before yesterday, but I was sick for a few days and couldn't really do anything but lay around in bed, so writing was out of the question. Not only that, but a lot of the scenes were difficult to write.

**Chapter Four:**

**Monsters, Great And Small**

Jiraiya spent a couple of minutes examining Shizuka's seal before straightening up.

"Don't worry Naruto, I can get this done in time for you to get back to Ichiraku." Jiraiya said, gathering chakra to his hands before bending down to the girl's level once more.

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air. Gaara shot him a glare, and Jiraiya ignored him.

"I need you to hold still. I won't lie, this is gonna hurt," Jiraiya explained to Shizuka. The girl clenched her eyes shut and nodded. "I'll start on three. One, two--"

Without warning Jiraiya began scribble a new seal quickly, not giving Shizuka time to tense up. A cry of pain caught in Shizuka's throat. "This is gonna hurt" couldn't even begin to prepare her for the horrible burning sensation the chakra caused as it blazed across her skin. As suddenly as Jiraiya had begun, he stopped, his hands shaking slightly from the strain as he stood.

"You should be fine now, kid," the sannin said, stepping back. "You'll feel funny for the next couple of hours, but that will pass."

Shizuka, doubled over and gritting her teeth from the pain, didn't pay much attention to the man's words. Gaara glanced over at the sannin questioningly, but Jiraiya just waved a hand dismissively.

"In a few minutes the pain will disappear." He reassured the sand ninja.

"Once she's able to stand, she'll be able to leave the hospital," Tsunade said with a nod. "I'll arrange for you two to stay--"

The Hokage was interrupted by a knock at the door. Before she could say anything Naruto jumped up and opened it, much to her annoyance.

"What--oh! Hi, Kankuro, Temari, and...um...whatshisname!" Naruto said when he saw who it was, opening the door wider to allow them in.

Temari glanced over at Gaara and mouthed "I told you so" as Baki entered the room, looking throughly annoyed. Gaara was getting quite agitated himself, since the hospital room wasn't that big, and they were trying to fit seven people plus a little girl into it. He inched over to one corner of the room, crossing his arms and feeling tempted to see if his sand would save him if he jumped out the window.

"Geez Gaara, that kid must've slowed you down a lot if we were able to catch up this fast." Kankuro said, looking almost victorious. Gaara merely shrugged at the half-insult.

"I apologize for the intrusion, Lady Hokage." Baki said with a bow.

"Ah, Baki. I'm sure you're quite sorry, especially since you didn't take the time to inform me of such an important development." Tsunade replied politely, her voice dripping with false sweetness.

"A-about that, you see, I--" Baki began, but Tsunade held up a hand to silence him, dropping her formal act, a scowl that bordered on a snarl twitching across her face.

"I don't care what the hell was going through your mind. Lucky for you, this girl didn't actually know anything." Tsunade growled, motioning to Shizuka, who was now glancing around at all the people in the room, looking slightly queasy.

Seeing the dangerous look in Tsunade's eye, Jiraiya decided it was time for a tactical retreat.

"Naruto, let's go, you're overdue for your training." Jiraiya said quickly, grabbing the back of the blond's jacket and dragging him off. Naruto barely had time to wave goodbye to everyone before the door snapped shut. Tsunade's glare hadn't wavered from Baki, who was feeling very, very small.

"I expect that we will be informed of any future criminals who even _look_ like they may be involved with Orochimaru in your territory." The Hokage said finally, keeping her voice as level as possible.

"Of course, sir." Baki said quickly with another bow, not noticing his mistake. Temari chuckled quietly, and Tsunade clenched her fists.

"Get out of my sight." The Hokage instructed, her voice eerily calm as she cracked her knuckles. Baki made a swift exit, leaving his students behind.

Tsunade took a deep breath, then turned back to Gaara, a smile on her face once more. "As I was saying, I'll arrange for the _four_ of you to stay at a hotel, where you will stay until I can figure out what to do with Shizuka."

"What do you mean?" Gaara spoke up finally, his eyes narrowing.

"Well, I have to find someone she can stay with...the three of you don't want to take care of her, do you?" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow. Shizuka's eyes widened and she whipped around to look at Gaara. He had closed his eyes, and appeared to be in deep thought. Kankuro scowled at the thought of a little brat running around the house, and Temari fidgeted, not too thrilled with the idea either.

"Why _can't_ I stay with you?" Shizuka asked Gaara finally, not liking what his silence implied. Gaara could think of more reasons than he cared to count.

He had no clue what to do with a kid.

He was only thirteen, Kankuro fifteen, and Temari sixteen. They weren't old enough to be burdened with an extra member to their family.

He liked peace and quiet. There wasn't anything peaceful or quiet about children.

They talked too much.

They were too impressionable.

He wasn't any kind of role model.

He was...

_...a monster._

Gaara sighed and opened his eyes, glancing over at the girl. She looked like she was about to cry as she waited for him to answer her question. She was a nice kid. She deserved a better family.

"Because, I..." He trailed off as he tried to come up with a valid excuse. Failing to find one that the girl would except, he began to panic internally, though he looked as stoic as ever.

"...It's fine with me if it's fine with them." Gaara blurted out before he could stop himself. Shizuka's eyes lit up, and Kankuro groaned. All Temari could do was stare at Gaara in silent horror. The girl turned to the siblings expectantly. Kankuro nodded, looking defeated, and Temari tried her best to smile.

"Sure, you can stay with us." Temari said, glancing over at Gaara. The sand ninja simply stared straight ahead, lost in his thoughts.

Tsunade looked slightly amused at this turn of events, and walked toward the door. "Fine. I'll arrange some rooms for the lot of you, anyway. I expect you'll at least be staying the night. I want to check up on Shizuka first thing in the morning."

"Wait, Hokage." Gaara called out before the woman had a chance to leave the room. Tsunade looked over at the sand ninja curiously.

"What is it?"

"We were attacked on the way here by a ninja from an unknown village." Gaara stated bluntly. He had neglected to give her this information sooner because he thought she may have turned them away. Now that Shizuka was cured, he assumed it would be fine to tell her.

The curiosity was gone from the Hokage's face in an instant, replaced with a frown.

"This would have been important to know sooner." Tsunade said sternly, placing a hand on her hip.

"It slipped my mind." Gaara replied dryly. Tsunade glared at him for a moment, then sighed.

"Then your stay will be extended to a week, so we can figure out who is after her."

With that the Hokage was gone.

X

As soon as they entered their rather large four bed hotel room, Gaara, in his infinite wisdom, sensed that Kankuro was pissed off. He threw his bandaged up puppet on the floor with a loud, hollow sounding 'thunk!' before flopping himself down onto the edge of his bed, shooting an angry glare at his younger brother.

"What's wrong?" Gaara asked calmly, crossing his arms. He was fully aware of what was bothering his brother, but he guessed that he should express concern anyway.

"You know _damn_ well what's wrong, Gaara." Kankuro snapped, the fact that his brother was playing dumb only adding to his annoyance.

"If you're that upset about it, you could have simply told the Hokage that you didn't agree with me." Gaara replied stoically. Kankuro rolled his eyes at this.

"Yeah, right, and be the only one to look like an asshole in front of the Hokage." The puppeteer snorted. Temari's mouth was set in a thin line, and she looked like she was close to clocking Kankuro over the head. Shizuka, realizing the argument had something to do with her, froze.

Gaara shrugged. "If it had been important to you, you should have protested anyway."

Kankuro sat up, and scowled. "I wouldn't have had to, if you hadn't suddenly decided to pretend like you had a heart."

Dead silence filled the room. Kankuro immediately realized he had not only _crossed_ the line, but destroyed it and planted a flag on the other side. For his sake, he had to apologize, and fast.

"Gaara, I'm--" He was cut short by the murderous glare he was receiving from his brother. The killing intent behind it was almost paralyzing.

"Kankuro didn't mean it, Gaara," Temari said as soothingly as she could while half panicking. "Just--"

"_Shut up_." Gaara hissed, fixing her with a glare that rivaled the one he shot Kankuro.

Temari's mouth promptly shut, and Gaara brushed passed her. When he left the room, he slammed the door behind him with such force that the frame splintered slightly. Kankuro let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"You IDIOT!" Temari roared, giving her brother a sound whack upside the head. "Now look what you've done!"

"Don't hit me." Kankuro growled half-heartedly. Temari slipped her sandals back on, and made her way toward the battered door.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Kankuro asked, jumping to his feet. Temari looked over her shoulder and scowled at him.

"To clean up your mess. Stay here and keep an eye on Shizuka." Temari fumed, closing the door carefully on her way out to keep it from sustaining further damage.

"Shit..." Kankuro swore, sinking back down onto the bed. The room was silent once again, save for the quiet tic-tocking of a clock hung over the television. Kankuro was startled when a quiet voice piped up.

"You hate me, don't you?"

He turned slightly to see Shizuka, perched on the bed on the far end of the room, near the window. She was looking out the window, not meeting the puppeteer's gaze. Kankuro rolled his eyes.

"No, I don't hate you, kid." Kankuro sighed. Shizuka glanced over at him as he sat up and grabbed a pamphlet that had been sitting on the nightstand.

"...Did they figure out what was wrong with you?" Kankuro asked disinterestedly as the thumbed through the pamphlet, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Shizuka fidgeted.

"Yes."

Kankuro paused in his page flipping to look over at the girl. "And?"

"It was a messed up seal." Shizuka squeaked, biting her lip nervously. Kankuro raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about, shrimp?" he picked up the phone and started to dial a number out of the pamphlet. "Be more specific, I ain't a mind reader."

Shizuka took a deep breath and let it out as one very quick sentence.

"Someonemessedupwhentheysealedademoninsideofmebutit'sfixednowokay?"

Kankuro stared at her for a moment as he tried to decipher what she had just said, when suddenly dawned on him. The phone slipped out of his hand and landed on the bed as he stared at her dumbly.

This quiet, innocent looking little girl had a _demon_ inside of her.

Like _Gaara._

"_Konoha Pizza, may I take your order?_" A bored female voice called out from the discarded phone. Kankuro reached out and grabbed the phone blindly, still staring at Shizuka, who looked as if she wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

"What kind of pizza do you want?" Kankuro asked finally, raising the phone back up to his ear.

X

Gaara had found a quiet, shady park, mercifully empty due to the fact that the sun was setting and everyone was rushing home, or, in the case of some ninjas, to work. If there was ever a time that he needed to be alone, it was now.

Kankuro didn't know just how close to death he had been. If Gaara hadn't left when he did, if Kankuro had said one more word, he would have been another of his victims. This fact both surprised and sickened Gaara.

Something about what Kankuro had said struck a nerve, far more than any insult could.

_Pretending to have a heart..._

Deep within him Shukaku chuckled, but Gaara ignored it, and his pounding headache. He sighed and sat down on the cool grassy ground beneath one of the larger trees in the park.

Had he just been pretending? Could he truly care for another human being?

He thought about it for a moment, and his heart sank. The best he could label his attitude toward everyone--even his siblings--was tolerance.

But it hadn't been too long since he had his change of heart. Things like this took time, didn't they? He floundered for an answer, but emotion was a subject completely foreign to him. He knew pain, hate, fear, anger, and loneliness. Other than that, he was at a loss.

_Kankuro is right._

"Gaara?"

The sand ninja whipped around in alarm, so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed his sister until she called out. Temari stood a few feet away, concern written all over her face. Gaara was shocked that his sister had followed him.

"Go away Temari." Gaara growled. Shukaku was practically tap dancing with glee at his host's distress, and he didn't know whether he could keep control of the demon. Temari sighed and placed her hands on her hips, ignoring what her younger brother had just said.

"Look, Kankuro can be stupid sometimes. Don't listen to anything he says," Temari advised, with a small smile. "Nobody else does."

Gaara stared at her, slowly realizing that she was trying to comfort him.

Temari, trying to comfort _him_.

Was this what sisters normally did?

"Let's get back to the hotel so you can watch me kick his ass." Temari said cheerfully, offering him a hand. After a moment of hesitation, he reached out and took her hand, and she helped him to his feet.

"Your chakra is very easy to track when you're upset. You should work on that." Temari suggested, keeping up her one sided conversation.

"Temari..." Gaara said quietly, catching his sister's attention.

"Yeah?" She asked, a smile still on her face. Gaara though for a moment, but couldn't find a way to put what he was currently feeling into words, so he settled for the easiest thing he could think of.

"...Thanks."

Temari's smile broadened, and she rolled her eyes. "Hey, what are sisters for? Now come on, we shouldn't leave Kankuro alone for too long."

Gaara silently agreed, and allowed Temari to lead him back to the hotel.

X

**I'm not too happy with this chapter, I'm not sure why. Hope you enjoyed it anyway. **


	5. Chapter Five: Gone

**Author's Note:** Sorry about the late update, tons of birthdays and general busyness over the past couple of weeks have really slowed down my writing. This chapter is also a bit shorter than usual, but don't worry, the next chapter will be back up to my average length--maybe even longer. We'll see.

You can expect the updates every week on Monday, following my normal updating schedule, even though this week's update was early. (Obviously, there isn't going to be another update this week, the Monday updating will restart the week after.)

**Chapter Five:**

**Gone**

"You have to get out of here, they're trying to kill you!" a man on the screen yelled at a young woman, waving his arms dramatically. Shizuka stared wide-eyed at the screen, the pizza all but forgotten in her hands. With much crashing, yelling, and blood, the hero stood triumphant over the group of men that had been after the woman.

"This is boring." Kankuro growled, picking up the remote. As he flipped restlessly through the channels, the door opened, and Kankuro ignored it, guessing it was Temari.

"Let me guess, you couldn't find him?" Kankuro asked dryly. There was no response. Shizuka leaned forward curiously to see who it was, and her eyes widened in horror.

"Kankuro, look out!" The girl squeaked. The moment the words left her mouth, Kankuro jumped to his feet, only to freeze as a kunai whizzed passed his head, nicking his cheek and embedding itself in the wall behind him.

"And you call yourself a ninja..." an ANBU shinobi scolded, twirling another kunai idly in his right hand as he looked Kankuro up and down. "If it's _that_ easy to sneak up on you, you should have been sent back to the academy."

Kankuro lifted up a hand and rubbed the blood off of his cheek, a smirk creeping across his face. "I could say the same about you."

The man paused in his taunting, and straightened up.

"What do you mean by that, boy?" He growled from behind his ANBU mask.

Kankuro's smirk grew as he twitched a finger on the hand he had used to wipe away the blood on his face, and with a small groan, the kunai that had been thrown at him pulled itself out of the wall and sailed toward the surprised ninja.

With a small growl of annoyance, the ninja had barely enough time to jump to the side, and the kunai tore across the nose of his cat mask and was once more embedded in a wall.

"Cute trick." He snapped, readjusting his mask as he tossed his remaining kunai. Kankuro easily stepped aside, raising an eyebrow at the futility of the act before realizing, a moment too late, that it had been a distraction. Before he knew it, the man was behind him, one hand grasping tightly around the bottom of his jaw, the other pressed firmly against the back of his head.

Kankuro's stomach felt as though it did a backflip as he realized what the ninja planned to do. He'd seen Baki do it once, soon after he had become a Genin, when a man had snuck up on Temari during one of his first missions. Kankuro had been sickened by how easily the man's neck snapped when Baki twisted it. Gaara had found if fascinating.

Kankuro glanced around quickly. Karasu was close by, but he wouldn't be able to attach any chakra threads to it without attracting the attention of his attacker, and they were far to close together for him to attack the man without hurting himself, anyway. Another option could be to immobilize the ninja's hands with chakra threads, but that idea was disregarded as soon as he thought it up. At this proximity, if the man was any kind of ninja at all, he would feel the change in his chakra, and would only kill him faster.

_If I can't talk my way out of this, I'm dead._

Bearing this grim thought in mind, Kankuro opened his mouth to speak, only to be shocked into silence when someone else piped up.

"Don't hurt him!"

The man loosened his grip slightly as he glanced over at Shizuka, who looked almost ill with fright. She jumped to her feet, and stood up straight, looking as brave as she could.

"It's me you want, right? Just leave him alone and take me."

There was a pause, then the man spoke, and Kankuro could tell he was smiling from the tone of his voice.

"The boss said you were sharp for your age," he said, his grip slackening even more. "Fine. I won't kill him."

Kankuro would have let out a sigh of relief, if the man's elbow hadn't connected sharply with his stomach, knocking the wind out him. Before he had a chance to recover, he was thrown to the ground, his head crashing against the nightstand on the way, effectively knocking him out. The man reached down and checked his pulse, ignoring Shizuka's yelps of protest.

"See? He isn't dead. Now let's go." With that he grabbed Shizuka's arm and, after a sharp tap to the base of her skull when she wouldn't stop struggling, preformed a quick hand seal and disappeared with the unconscious girl.

X

"...That's odd."

Gaara looked up, and blinked at his sister, who had stopped in the hallway, her eyes narrowed.

"What is it?" he asked, following her gaze and catching sight of the very suspicious and _very_ ajar looking door to their room. The slightest hint of concern flickered across his face, and Temari inched forward, peeking inside the room cautiously. Not sensing any immediate danger, she entered the room, followed closely by Gaara.

The room appeared to be empty, but as Temari walked farther into it, she noticed that the nightstand between two of the beds was crooked. Her pace quickened until she practically ran over to the spot, and Gaara nearly jumped out of his skin at her exclamation.

"Kankuro!"

Gaara rushed to her side as she dropped to her knees to examine him. The sand ninja twitched as he smelled the blood before he saw it. Kankuro's hood lay a few feet away from him, lost in some sort of struggle, and his messy brown hair was coated in blood.

Temari was swearing under her breath as she felt around for the wound on his head. "I swear, if he dies, I'm gonna follow him to the afterlife, drag his ass back here, and kill him again." She growled. Gaara noticed that her hands were shaking. He looked down at his own, and found that they were as steady as they always were. He came to the conclusion that normally, people weren't so calm under these circumstances.

"Found it," Temari said finally, a shaky smile slipping onto her face. "It's shallow, looks worse than it is."

"He'll be fine, then?" Gaara asked, pacing the room and looking around curiously. Temari nodded, then paused when she noticed his behavior.

"What are you doing?" She asked as he looked under one of the beds. He got back to his feet, and scowled.

"Shizuka isn't here."

X

"Haru isn't here."

The ANBU captain frowned, though it was impossible to see from behind his dog mask. Only two of his three team members were present for their meeting in the forest just outside the gates of Konoha, after finishing their patrol duty.

"Has anyone seen him?" the captain asked. Both of his teammates shook their heads, and he sighed. "This isn't like him. Normally he's the first to arrive."

"He may have run into trouble." The woman wearing a fox mask suggested. The captain thought this was probably true, because in ANBU, one was _never_ late, the only exception being Hatake Kakashi, now retired and training a Genin team, last he heard.

"Right. In that case--"

Whatever the captain's plan had been, his teammates never learned, for at that moment another ANBU member jumped out of the brush, a body slung over his shoulder.

"Captain Dai?" The man asked wearily. The captain nodded, his eyes narrowing.

"We believe this man was part of your team." The man explained, laying the body down gently on the ground. The woman with the fox mask gasped when she saw the dead man's face, and sank to her knees, the other team member bending down and patting her on the shoulder awkwardly.

"Yes, he was." Dai sighed, running a hand through his short, choppy black hair. To his alarm not only was his former teammate's mask missing, but his ANBU uniform as well.

"Did you remove his uniform?" He asked, and the other man stood and shook his head.

"No, it was missing when my team found him, sir."

"The Hokage needs to be informed, _immediately._ We may have an imposter running around the village," Dai growled, turning to the fox-masked woman. "You stay here and guard the body, we can investigate his death once the Hokage knows the situation."

With a quick nod from everyone to show they understood, they all set off for the Hokage tower, each taking a different route, save for the woman.

X

When Kankuro opened his eyes, his vision was blurry, and all he could see was a mess of yellow and lavender. He immediately recognized the blob as Temari (who else would wear that dress?) and attempted to sit up.

"Don't even think about it." Temari growled, pushing him back down into the hotel bed with just enough force to remind him of his horrible, throbbing headache.

"Hey, watch it," Kankuro shot back as his vision started to clear, reaching up to feel the bandages around his head. "Are you trying to kill me? What the hell happened?"

"We don't know." Gaara's monotone voice said from somewhere off to his left, and Kankuro swore internally. He knew it was a selfish thought, but he had hoped Gaara would stay away for a while and kick some puppies, scare small children, or whatever the hell he did to blow off steam when he would rather be killing someone.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Temari asked, holding her hand up for him to see with three fingers raised. Kankuro glared at her.

"Twenty," he said sarcastically, squinting one of his eyes shut. "Really, Temari, I'm fine. Go bother someone else."

Temari rolled her eyes and stood up. "Can you at least tell me whether you remember anything?"

Kankuro fell silent, a small frown on his face. After a moment, the frown turned into a scowl and he jumped to his feet, ignoring Temari's annoyed orders for him to sit back down.

"Some bastard came in here--caught me by surprise, or I would have kicked his ass! He looked like he was part of ANBU or something. He was going to kill me, but..." Kankuro's scowl was replaced by a look of panic. "Wait, where's the kid?"

"Gone." Gaara said, glancing over at Kankuro. The puppeteer groaned and shook his head.

"It's all my fault. If I had been paying attention, this would have never happened."

"That's not true," Temari sighed, pulling her brother back over to the bed. "And if you don't get back in that bed, I'm going to tell Baki who scribbled all over his forehead protector on the last mission."

Kankuro muttered under his breath and sat back down on the bed, his arms crossed defiantly. He _definitely_ didn't want Baki to find out about that, or else he'd be assigned to the worst training and chores for months. Not to mention that he wouldn't put it passed his sensei to pull something equally humiliating on him.

A knock at the door drew the attention of the three siblings, and Temari stood and answered it. Two ANBU members stood in the hallway, and Kankuro tensed up, making sure he knew _exactly_ where Karasu was.

"The Hokage wished for us to inform the four of you that she wishes to see you in her office as soon as possible, and that when you are ready to go, we are to escort you." The taller of the two said bluntly from behind his dog mask. Temari hesitated a moment before nodding.

"There are only going to be three of us," she said wearily, turning to her brothers. "Come on, Gaara. You too, Kankuro, if you think you're able."

"I told you already, I'm fine!" Kankuro shouted, jumping to his feet and grabbing Karasu. Gaara silently walked over to his sister's side, giving no more than a passing glance to the ANBU members.

"You're all ready?" The smaller of the two ANBU members asked, and Kankuro nodded as he skidded to a halt next to Gaara.

"Yeah, let's go."

X

**This chapter almost felt like a filler chapter. Bleh.**


	6. Chapter Six: Issekigan

**Author's Notes:** Once again, life came up and kicked me in the knee while prancing around me going "Haha you don't get to update your story on time!". I would have this chapter up at around 7:37PM on Monday and still made my deadline, but the website was having issues. I'm sorry guys. :(

**Chapter Six**

**Issekigan**

He hated the teleporting jutsu. It required intense concentration, large amounts of chakra, and always made him queasy.

Not to mention it was even _more_ of a pain in the ass when you were toting around a kid. He took a deep, steadying breath, before ripping off the cat mask and tossing it away, wincing at the rather loud crash it caused as it hit the hard stone wall and shattered.

"Ah, you're back, Yasuo." A quiet, yet strong voice said from behind him. Yasuo shouldn't have been surprised, really, he had arranged to meet his boss here after the mission, but there was always something about the man that disarmed you, made you nervous.

A shiver ran down his spine as he turned to face him. "Yeah, I got the kid," he said quickly, running his free hand through his messy, dirty blond hair, shifting uncomfortably. "Is there anything else you want me to do, sir?"

"Yes. I need you to go back to Konoha," Yasuo's face fell. "And leave some clues so that they will be able to find us."

Yasuo raised an eyebrow. "If you don't mind me asking, Shuzo, wasn't the point of the plan to kidnap the kid? Won't they just take her back?"

"I wasn't finished," Shuzo growled, and a sharp glare was enough to silence his subordinate. "I want you to make sure that two of the people who get the mission are Gaara of the Desert, who is currently staying in Konoha, and Uzumaki Naruto."

Yasuo, in spite of himself, protested. "But you told me those two were Jinchuuriki! Won't that be dangerous? I mean, for now, can't we just settle for the one we have?" He shifted the weight of the girl he held under his right arm for emphasis.

Shuzo grinned, and it took all of Yasuo's willpower to keep from taking a step away from the man.

"They are only two young Genin, Yasuo. Uzumaki has very little talent, aside from Kage Bunshin. Gaara would be the only one to give you trouble, but I'm sure you could defeat him," Shuzo's grin widened. "At least, I _hope_ you would be able to."

Yasuo scowled, and turned to take the girl to her cell.

"Yasuo."

He looked over his shoulder at Shuzo, and caught the bandage he tossed.

"Your nose is bleeding." Shuzo pointed out, and Yasuo reached up to touch the scratch going across the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah, some kid threw a kunai at me. He put some chakra behind it, it cut straight through the porcelain mask." Yasuo growled, shaking his head.

Shuzo chuckled, and Yasuo continued on down the hallway.

X

As the three siblings plus two ANBU guards entered the office, they found a very aggravated and slightly drunk looking Tsunade sitting behind her desk, her head held in one hand and a vicious scowl on her face.

"Someone took Shizuka." Gaara said bluntly before the Hokage had the chance to speak. Tsunade stared at the sand ninja blankly for a moment, and Gaara wondered briefly just how drunk she was, but the sudden slamming of her fist into her desk was enough to chase those thoughts away.

Dead silence filled the room as Tsunade glared at everyone present.

"Do you mean to tell me that not _only_ did one of my _elite ANBU shinobi_ get murdered, and his identity stolen, but a Jinchuuriki was taken as well?" She asked, her voice rising with each word.

"That appears to be the situation, Hokage." The bolder of the two ANBU responded. Tsunade's glare settled on his dog masked face, and there was a tense moment before, with a sigh, she closed her eyes and shook her head.

Temari glanced over at Gaara, but there was no change in his facial expression. She knew he hated the title "Jinchuuriki", because it made him sound more like a thing than a person. It was bad enough Suna thought of him as nothing more than a powerful weapon with a short temper.

"The ANBU, Jounin, and Chuunin all need to be informed, and security has to be tightened," Tsunade told the two ANBU, who nodded in understanding. "There will be a meeting in two hours."

The two ANBU bowed, then left the Hokage's office. As they left, Baki walked in the door passed them, giving Tsunade a very respectful bow.

"I apologize for my behavior before, Hokage." Baki said quickly, straightening up and taking a place next to his students. Tsunade just waved a hand dismissively.

"Now is not the time to dwell on petty insults," Tsunade sighed, looking at the four of them sternly. "I'm going to tell you now, you four will not be above suspicion in the counsel's eyes."

Baki sighed, putting a hand on Kankuro's shoulder to stop his outburst before it started. "Of course. We won't leave Konoha until we are cleared."

Gaara glanced over at Baki, a small frown on his face. Tsunade noticed, and straightened up.

"Do you have something to say, Gaara?" The Hokage asked, and Gaara turned his attention to her, the frown deepening.

"Aren't we going to..." the sand ninja trailed off, then shrugged, looking down at the ground. "It's nothing."

Tsunade regarded Gaara for a moment before turning to Baki.

"You are free to go, though there won't be much to do at this time of day. I expect the four of you to return to my office at ten o'clock in the morning to discuss what we are going to do about finding Shizuka."

At the mention of finding the girl, Tsunade noted that Gaara shot her an almost grateful look. Baki nodded, and herded his students out of her office with a quick "Thank you". As soon as they were out of her office, and she could no longer hear their footsteps, Tsunade fished a half empty bottle of sake out of her bottom drawer, figuring she was going to need it to deal with the counsel once they found out about the whole fiasco.

X

Shizuka stood in a long, pristinely white hallway, with no windows or doors. Something about it was eerie, and she wondered how she had gotten there. She took a few steps forward, then heard a feral sounding shriek echo through the empty hallway, and she froze in place, her eyes wide with fear. It sounded as though it had come from a bird of prey. She looked behind her, but it looked exactly the same as the hallway before her did: white nothingness stretching off into infinity.

She turned to face forward once again, took a deep breath, then began to run blindly. Shizuka reasoned that noise, even a dangerous sounding predatory cry, was better than nothing. To her complete and utter shock, she had taken no more than fifteen paces when the scenery suddenly began to change: the walls took on a light grey shade that reminded her of clouds on the edge of a storm, and the floor became more uneven, and changed from bland white tile to rough, rocky ground.

She slowed to a stop as she came upon a room at the end of the hallway, taken up almost completely by a huge set of steel bars that stretched up to the ceiling, which was so high up she had to squint to see it. She stood there for a moment, taking in the peculiar sight, when she noticed that something was moving behind the bars. She saw a small slip of paper on one of the bars, with the kanji for "Seal" written on it. A shiver ran down her spine and, though she desperately wanted to turn around and run in the opposite direction, she was rooted in place as realization slowly dawned on her.

This was the demon that was sealed inside of her.

**"I smell a human..."** an almost high pitched, booming voice echoed throughout the room, filling Shizuka with both dread and awe. There was more movement behind the bars, and two huge, piercing yellow eyes stared down at her. Though it was hard to make out in the darkness, the eyes appeared to belong to an impossibly huge bird. Shizuka shivered involuntarily at the aura of hate and just plain _evil_ that radiated off of the creature.

**"You are the one that I am sealed inside of?"** the demon squawked indignantly, it's eyes narrowing. **"A scrawny little girl? What a waste."**

Shizuka shuffled uncomfortably, feeling slightly offended at the demon's assessment of her.

"I'm not scrawny." Shizuka muttered against her better judgment. For a moment there was silence, then the bird started screeching. It took Shizuka a moment to realize it was laughing. Laughing at _her._

**"Well, at least you're a brave girl,"** the demon leaned down so that Shizuka could get a better look at it's pretty blue feathers, though she was sure that it didn't actually need to lean down to see her better, since she had heard that birds of prey had excellent eyesight. **"Brave, but stupid."**

Shizuka's eyes narrowed at the statement, though on the inside she was terrified by the fierce glare she was receiving from the demon.

"You can't do anything to me from behind those bars, you dumb bird." Shizuka snapped, feeling proud that her voice hadn't cracked and that she sounded at least halfway serious. She wasn't sure _how_ she knew the demon couldn't hurt her, but something told her that it was powerless where it was.

As soon as the words left her mouth, the demon let out a shriek and thrashed against the steel bars, as if it wanted nothing more then to tear through them and rip the girl to shreds for her insolence. Shizuka could distantly _feel_ it struggling against the seal, and a bit of it's chakra leaked through before it finally calmed down, and glared daggers at the girl once more.

**"Why are you here, human?"** The demon growled, taking another swipe at the bars, which caused Shizuka to wince as she both saw and felt it.

"I don't know why I'm here. Belive me, I wouldn't be if I had any choice." Shizuka sighed, putting her hands on her hips in an almost perfect imitation of Temari. She had no clue why she was being so bold in front of the demon, but it felt nice to assert herself for once.

**"Then leave me in peace, brat."** The demon retreated into the depths of it's prison, and Shizuka slowly felt herself being pulled out of wherever she was. Just before the room disappeared, the demon offered a few more words to her.

**"Don't put yourself in any dangerous situations. If you die, I die, and I will _not_ let that happen. You won't like it if I have to save us."**

Shizuka jumped as her eyes snapped open and she looked around wildly. She was in a cell, by the looks of it, though not like any that she'd ever heard of before. True, it was stone, and there were iron bars keeping her from escaping, but it was clean and devoid of rats and other unsavory creatures, and it was almost warm and dry, rather than wet and cold.

Shizuka drew her knees up to her chin, and shivered with fear. Now that she wasn't near the demon and being unwittingly influenced by it's presence, she was scared, and fought to keep from crying.

_At least everyone back in Konoha is alright,_ she thought, though it offered her little comfort. She was in a strange place, ripped away from the only friends she had.

She let out a barely audible sob, and buried her face in her hands.

X

_**Issekigan.**_

Gaara would have jumped at the mental intrusion, if he hadn't grown used to it over the years. Instead he heaved a sigh at the constantly drunk sounding voice of Shukaku. He had been glad for the demon's company when he had been very young, back when he didn't know what it was. In fact, he remembered that he had even asked _why_ it sounded drunk. It had avoided the question.

_"Issekigan" what?_ Gaara asked wearily, shifting slightly on his perch at the edge of the hotel roof. He liked watching the city lights at night, and it struck him how much different than Suna Konoha looked at night.

_**You were thinking about that girl's demon. It's Issekigan, the four-tailed eagle demon. I could recognize that overgrown chicken's chakra a mile away.**_

_Do the demons all know each other?_ Gaara asked, wondering how Shukaku could have known this. He felt rather than heard Shukaku growl in annoyance.

_**Of course we do, you idiot. We all come from the same place, just like all summoned animals come from the same place. Issekigan also happens to be the strongest of the lesser tailed beasts. She's stupid as hell, though. Isn't even capable of speech without a host.**_

_...She?_ Gaara thought blankly, dumbfounded. He didn't know that demons even _had_ a gender. Although, now that he thought about it, if you strained to hear past the drunkeness, Shukaku sounded very male.

**_Yes, she. I didn't think you were so stupid._** Shukaku snapped, and Gaara winced at it's--his--raised voice.

_I bet you're just as stupid as Issekigan is when you don't have a host's intelligence to use, so you have no room to talk._ Gaara jabbed back at the demon irritably. He immediately regretted it, however, when the demon grew angry and fought to gain momentary control over it's host.

_**You stupid boy, if you don't watch your mouth, I'll kill your family! I'll kill that Uzumaki kid you made friends with-- hell, I'll destroy this whole damn village!**_

_You couldn't kill Naruto. You tried before, remember?_ Gaara shot back, clenching his eyes shut and grabbing a fist full of his hair, nearly tearing it out at the pain Shukaku was putting him through. With a great amount of effort, he managed to suppress the demon, and slowly opened his eyes, shaking slightly.

That was far too close, especially with his brother and sister asleep in the room beneath him without a clue as to what kind of danger they had been in. He heaved a sigh and stood, stretching. Dawn would break soon, and he guessed he was going to have to wake up his siblings, as usual.

X

Yasuo wasn't happy.

Sneaking back into Konoha the next day hadn't been easy, since they were now on their guard. He was feeling the strain from constantly having to keep up a complex genjutsu to keep himself hidden from sight as he made his way to the Hokage's tower, and he'd almost been caught numerous times when he'd strayed too close to a few particularly astute ninja.

Luckily for him, most of the ninja were too distracted by their daily duties to pay close attention. When he finally _did_ manage to get to the Hokage tower, he had to slip passed a couple of ANBU guards, which had nearly given him a panic attack. Frankly, he was shocked he managed to pull it off, and when he entered the Hokage's office, he nearly had a heart attack when he saw that the Hokage was at her desk. Upon closer inspection, however, he realized the woman was out cold.

Yasuo shook his head, and carefully looked at the paperwork that wasn't trapped under the unconscious Hokage. It appeared as though she had been looking through ANBU reports of the murder of some ANBU member named "Haru", which had to be the weak ANBU shinobi he had killed. Under that was a brief account of the abduction of Shizuka, which he pulled out gingerly, and, borrowing a pen from the desk, he began to scribble extra details which would aid them in finding out just where he had taken the girl.

Just as he finished writing, he heard the doorknob turn, and quickly dashed into a corner, pumping as much extra chakra as he could into his genjutsu without attracting unwanted attention. A woman with shoulder length black hair walked into the room, a disapproving frown on her face when she saw the state of the Hokage. She slammed her armful of paperwork down on the desk, causing the Hokage to open her eyes and glare at the woman. Yasuo felt panic welling up in his chest. He had to make it to the window, and escape, because there was no way he would be able to hide himself from the sannin for long.

"You don't have to be so loud, Shizune." Tsunade growled, sitting up and looking quite undignified with ink covering half of her face.

"Tsunade," the woman named Shizune scolded, dropping her voice so that the ANBU outside wouldn't hear. "You shouldn't be drinking on the job!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Shizune. After all, I'm not so hung over that I can't sense that man trying to inch toward the window."

Yasuo froze, and his blood ran cold as Tsunade turned toward him, and formed a hand seal. "Kai!"

The genjutsu immediately dispelled, leaving a very frightened Yasuo in plain view. He was only a few feet from the window. He glanced between the window and the Hokage, weighing his chances. As a last ditch effort, he dove towards the window, crashing through it and jumping to his feet before dashing away. Shizune quickly ran after him, and the ANBU, who had dashed into the Hokage's office after hearing the window break, soon joined in on the pursuit. Tsunade just sat at her desk and steadied herself before standing up to follow.

This was going to be the start of a stressful day.

X

**And with that, we finally learn what Shizuka's demon is.**

**Don't forget to review!**


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